Girdle



March 8, 1966 P. E. AMBROSE ETAL 3,238,945

GIRDLE Filed May 16, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet l "iimumlulll.

llllllllll IIIIIII INVENTORS 1 Paul E. Ambrosefi Carl Redmon GlinesATTORNEY March 8, 1966 P. E. AMBROSE ETAIL. 3,238,945

GIRDLE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 16, 1963 FIG.6.

FIG.7.

INVENTORS Paul E. Ambrosefi Carl Redmon Glines Wwm ATTORNEY March 8,1966 P. E

. AMBROSE ETAL 3,

GIRDLE Filed May 16, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS Fl G Paul E.Ambrosea Carl Redmon Glines BY WWW ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,238,945GIRDLE Paul E. Ambrose and Carl Redman Glines, Dover, DeL, assignors toSarong, Inc., Sarong Park, Dover, Del., a corporation of Delaware FiledMay 16, 1963, Ser. No. 281,862 Claims. (Cl. 128-548) This invention isan improved girdle which permits greater freedom of leg movement duringwalking or sitting while maintaining figure control.

An important purpose of a girdle is to support and restrain the thighand buttock muscles and to give a smooth line across the abdomen whilesupporting and shaping the gluteal fold of the buttocks. To do this thegirdle must fit the wearer snugly throughout. At the same time, adequatefreedom is required at the bottom opening of the girdle to allow ease ofwalking and striding. One prior art construction provides overlappingpanels of inelastic fabric with upwardly inclined lower edges whereineach panel extends from the bottom edge of the girdle up to thewaistline. Another construction provides a pair of crossed, elongatedelastic pieces in the bottom edges of the front area of the girdle whichare connected together for the most part.

The girdles of the present invention are a further advance in the art inproviding girdle construction that are economical to make, give firmsupport to the lower torso, and at the same time provide greater freedomand ease of leg movement.

The invention provides a girdle having side sections and a front andback panel, each of which panels extend from the top to the bottom ofthe girdle, at least one of said panels having a diagonally inclinedbottom edge and an elastic member disposed at cross-angles to the bottomedge of the panel and being attached at its ends to opposite sidesections and being free from attachment .to the panel.

More specifically the invention provides a girdle having a front panelwhose bottom edge is inclined upwardly and a separate expansion memberor band whose top edge is free or substantially free from the frontpanel and which is disposed at the cross-angles to the bottom edge ofthe front panel. The front panel is secured at each edge to a sidesection and the expansion member is also attached at each of its sideedges to a side section of the girdle. The expansion member is free fromthe front panel. The expansion member and the bottom portion of thefront panel are made of stretchable or elastic material, includingmaterial which is stretchable by virtue of its rubber content. The frontpanel provides the support and control of the body tissues while itselastic bottom edge and the elastic expansion member allow the girdle toaccommodate to the pressures exerted by the legs in walking and sitting,and provide comfort and resistance to riding up.

The expansion member may advantageously be disposed below the frontpanel :and together with the stretchable bottom portion of the frontpanel provides a hingelike action so that each part exercises controlover the lower part of the torso while permitting freedom of leg actionduring walking and sitting.

In another construction of this invention, the girdle has a rear panelwhich has an elastic bottom edge member inclined upwardly and an elasticexpansion member under it disposed at cross-angles to the elastic bottomedge member. Similarly to the front panel construction, each end of therear expansion member is secured to a side section of the girdle and isfree from the rear panel. Thus, the elastic bottom edge member of therear panel extends 3,238,945 Patented Mar. 8, 1966 from one side sectionat a point above its bottom edge to the bottom edge of the other sidesection.

The degree of stretch in the two criss-cross elastic members in thefront of the girdle may be greater than the degree of stretch of thecorresponding cross-cross elastic band members in the back of thegirdle. This greater resistance to stretch of the criss-cross members inthe back of the girdle provides greater holding power in the region ofthe gluteal fold to give the wearer firm support, but because of thehinging action of the criss-cross members, there is no loss of freedomof leg movement.

The invention will be further understood from the following descriptionand drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of a girdle made according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the lines 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a rear view of the girdle shown in FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a front view of an alternate form of the girdle.

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a rear view of the girdle shown in FIG- URE 4;

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of FIGURE *6;

FIGURE 8 is a front view of an alternate form of the girdle; and

FIGURE 9 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of FIGURE 8.

Referring to the drawings in FIGURES 1 through 3, 3, numeral 10represents a girdle having a front panel 12, side sections 14 and 16,and rear panel 18. The side sec tions may be of single thickness fabricand preferably have circumferential elasticity. They may be of fabrichaving two-way stretch, such as a power net material, as indicated bythe stretch arrows.

Front panel 12 may be made from one or several pieces of cloth and mayhave a vertical stretch. The front panel is sewn to side sections 14 and16 along generally vertical seams 20 and 22, and rear panel 18 alonggenerally vertical seams 24 and 26, to form a circumferentially completegarment. To the top edge of the garment is sewn a waist band 28 which iselastic and stretchable in the girthwise direction as shown by thestretch arrows.

Advantageously, elastic bottom edge member 30 is secured along its topedge by stitching 32 to the bottom edge of panel 12. As is evident fromFIGURE 1 of the drawings, the lower end or side BC of member 30 isstitched to the side section 14 of the girdle and to bottom band 34 bythe lower portion of seam 20. The bottom band 34 is sewn along its topedge to the bottom edge of the side sections and the rear panel to forma girthwise expansible bottom edging of the girdle. The upper end orside AD of member 30 is stitched to side section 16 along the lowerportion of seam 22. The bottom edge CD of member 30 is entirely free.While it is preferred that member 30 be elastic as indicated by thestretch arrow, it can be made of inelastic material.

Disposed under member 30 is an elastic expansion member or band 36attached along its lower end EF to bottom band 34 and side section 16 byseam 22. It has an upper end GH attached by stitching to side section 14by seam 20. The expansion band 36 is free from bottom edge member 30 andfront panel 12 so that the parts individually and cooperatively providea hugging action at the lower front portion of the girdle. The members30 and 36 advantageously have a greater degree of elasticity in adirection parallel to their bottom edges, but they can have two-waystretch or be elastic due to being cut on the bias. These members areshown in the drawing as being longer than they are wide, but it is to beunderstood that the members may extend upwards to some extent. Suchupward extent should not go beyond the mid-height of the girdle,however, since it would then tend to function like a girdle having twofront panels extending from top to bottom of the girdle, with attendantloss of freedom of movement and cooperation of the members. It is to beunderstood further that the greater the amount of material used inmaking members 30 and 36, the more expensive becomes the girdle.

The front panel 12 of the girdle, in extending from top to bottom andside to side, effectively supports and controls the abdomen and thetissues of the lower torso. The expansion band 36 provides means wherebythe girdle is able to accommodate easily and quickly to the stretchingforces generated by the legs in moving or sitting. More flexibility isthus provided than can be attained in girdles where there are multiplefront panels extending for the full height of the girdle or the elasticpieces are sewn together throughout most of their perimeters.

In order to provide natural curvature of the side seams and eliminatetheir distortion, member 30 advantageously can be longer than expansionband 36 so that member 30 will normally be looser and prevent undue pullon the side seam 22 to which it is secured. FIGURE 4 illustrates agirdle in which the elastic bottom member 30 is longer than expansionband 36. When the garment is placed upon the body, the slack of member30 is taken up and the two criss-cross elastic members exert just theright amount of tension so that both side seams 20 and 22 retain theirnatural curves, and thus allow the front panel to perform its fullsupporting function. This is illustrated particularly in FIGURES 4 and 5of an alternative girdle construction. In the absence of such loosenessin member 30, undue buckling and distortion of seam 22 would occur atthe region where member 30 meets the seam line.

An alternate form of the gird-1e of this invention is shown in FIGURES 4through 7 in which, in addition to the criss-cross elastic members inthe front of the girdle, there are similar criss-cross elastic membersin the bottom portion of the back of the girdle, all of which cooperateto provide greater freedom of leg movement during walking and sittingwhile controlling the tissues of the gluteal muscles. In thisconstruction, rear panel 18, which may be stretchable in the verticaldirection as shown by the stretch arrow, is attached by sewing to sidesections 14 and 16 along sea-ms 24 and 26. 'Panel 18 has secured to itan elastic back edge member 40 by stitching 42 along the members stopedge to the bottom edge of panel 18. The lower end KL of member 40 isstitched to side section 16 and to elastic bottom band 34 by the lowerportion of seam 26. The upper end JM of member 40 is stitched to sidesection 14 along the lower portion of seam 24. This constructionprovides a bottom edge LM of member 40 which is entirely free. It willbe appreciated that, although member 40 may be elastic as indicated bythe stretch arrow, it nevertheless can be made of inelastic material.

Positioned under member 40 is a rear elongated expansion band 44attached along its lower side ON to bottom band 34 and side section 14by seam 24. The upper side PO is attached to section 16 by seam 26 toprovide a construction in the rear of the bottom portion of the girdlewhich is similar to that of the bottom portion of the front of thegirdle. Band members 40 and 44 advantageously have a greater degree ofelasticity in a direction parallel to their bottom edge, but, as infront members 30 and 36, they can be of two-way stretch material or bestretchable due to their being cut on the bias. In addition, member 44may be longer than it is wide. However, it may extend upwardly to someextent.

As heretofore described in connection with the crisscross front members,rear member 40 can be longer than rear expansion band 44. When thegirdle is placed on the body, member 40 will prevent undue pull on sideseam 24 where it is secured and thus maintain the normal contour of seam24. It will also assure that seams 24 and 26 follow their designedcurvature while giving full support to the rear portion of the torso.

It will be appreciated that the cooperation between rear members 40 and44 provides a hingelike action which eliminates undue stress on thelower back portion of the girdle during striding and walking and, inaddition, provides for full control of the gluteal muscles andassociated tissues.

FIGURES 8 and 9 show another alternate construction of the girdle ofthis invention. In this construction, inelastic fabric piece 46 ispositioned between the crisscrossed members 30 and 36 to further preventwrinkling of seam 22 when the girdle is on the body of the wearer. Theupper edge of piece 46 is sewn by seam 32 to a portion of the bottomedge of front panel 12. The upper edge of piece 46 extends obliquelydownwardly from seam 22 to a point past the vertical center line of thefront of the girdle. The side edge of piece 46 is sewn by seam 22 to aportion of side section 16 extending downwardly from the point ofintersection of seams 22 and 32 to approximately the point ofintersection of seam 22 and the top edge of member 36. The bottom edgeof piece 46 is free and extends obliquely upwardly intersecting the topedge of piece 46 to complete the triangle.

The triangular piece 46 may be cut from any suitable inelastic fabricmaterial. It may have some stretch in it, however, such as a fabric thatwould be cut on the bias so as to provide a resistance to stretch in thearea where seam 32 of front panel 12 intersects seam 22 of side section16. This triangular piece serves as a compensator for the forces exertedin this area by balancing the pull on seams 22 and 20 in the lowerportion of the front panel when members 30 and 36 are stretched.

Advantageously, the rear criss-cross members of FIG- URE 6 may havepositioned between them a triangular fabric piece in a manner heretoforedescribed to avoid uneven tension on seam 24 in the area Where seam 42intersects it.

It has been further found that garter attachments positioned in the hipregion at the bottom edge of side sections 14 and 16 produce a downwardpull on the side sections which cooperates with the tensionedcriss-cross members both in the front and in the back of the girdle toprovide for exceptional control of the lower abdominal muscles andtissues around the gluteal folds of the wearer. In addition, whencriss-cross front members are used in cooperation with criss-cross backmembers, there is provided a pull downward from the area of eachtrochanter across the front around the upper thigh at the other sidethereof and upwardly along and under the gluteal fold to the buttockopposite the trochanter. This cooperating criss-cross action in both thefront and back of the girdle provides for greater ease in striding andsitting as well as greater support for the lower abdominal region andthe buttocks of the wearer. Also provided is better formfitting of thegirdle in both the back and front of the wearer, particularly a cuppingsupport for the gluteal folds. The presence of the expansion bandprovides the above control and support in a light and airy garment whichis not characterized by the heavy and cumbersome structures of the priorart.

It will be appreciated that the girdle construction of this inventionmay provide the criss-cross member at the bottom portion of the frontonly, the rear only, or in both the front and rear of the girdle.

It will be further appreciated that the expansion band positioned underthe member attached to the lower portion of the front panel and/or theback panel provides for simplicity of girdle construction and givesmaximum freedom for leg action without sacrificing any of the controlsfound in criss-cross girdles known to the art. The free expansion band,which is free or substantially free from the front and/ or back panel,provides unique control and restraint better than heretofore provided byknown girdles because the expansion band is able to perform its functionboth independently and cooperatively with the overlying member. One ormore tacking stitches may be employed to make the expansion band liesomewhat closely to the bottom edge member of the front and/0r backpanel without unduly interfering with their functions. These stitchesmay be placed where the top edge of the expansion band crosses the topedge of the bottom edge member. It is to be understood however that itis a distinct advantage of the invention that no fastening together ofthe two members is required.

It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be madein the form and arrangement of the elements forming the girdlesillustrated herein without departing from the spirit and scope of thisinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. A girdle having a body portion including a pair of side sections, afront panel and back panel, at least one of said panels having adiagonally inclined bottom edge, and an expansion member disposed atcross-angles to the inclined bottom edge of said one panel, saidexpansion member being of uniform width throughout a major Portion ofits length and being stretchable in a direction parallel to itslongitudinal axis, the expansion member being attached at its ends tothe respective side sections and its upper and lower edges being free ofattachment throughout a major portion of its length so that the girdleaccommodates to stretching forces generated by movement of the body ofthe wearer.

2. The girdle of claim 1 in which said one panel is the front panel.

3. The girdle of claim 1 in which said one panel is the back panel.

4. The girdle of claim 1 in which both the front panel and the backpanel have diagonally inclined bottom edges and corresponding expansionmembers disposed at crossangles to the inclined bottom edges of saidpanels.

5. Girdle of claim 4 in which the bottom edge and the expansion memberat the front of the girdle have a greater degree of stretch than thebottom edge and expansion member at the back of the girdle.

6. Girdle of claim 1 in which said inclined bottom edge is elastic.

7. Girdle of claim 1 in which said inclined bottom edge is longer thanthe expansion member.

8. Girdle of claim 1 in which the expansion member has at least onepoint of attachment to the inclined bottom edge.

9. Girdle of claim 1 in which a fabric insert is attached to said onepanel and a corresponding side section and positioned between saidinclined bottom edge and the expansion member.

10. Girdle of claim 9 in which the fabric piece is substantiallytriangular in shape and having its top edge attached to said one paneland extending downwardly past the vertical center line of the girdle,its side edge attached to a side section and its bottom edge extendingupwardly and intersecting its top edge.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,445,322 7/1948Fridolph 128548 2,553,301 5/1951 Colby 128548 2,707,280 5/1955 Mayer128548 2,757,379 8/1956 Stone et al. 128528 2,849,003 8/1958 Hines128-547 2,974,667 3/1961 Cousins 128547 ADELE M. EAGER, PrimaryExaminer.

1. A GIRDLE HAVING A BODY PORTION INCLUDING A PAIR OF SIDE SECTIONS, A FRONT PANEL AND BACK PANEL, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID PANELS HAVING A DIAGONALLY INCLINED BOTTOM EDGES, AND AN EXPANSION MEMBER DISPOSED AT CROSS-ANGLES TO THE INCLINED BOTTOM EDGE OF SAID ONE PANEL, SAID EXPANSION MEMBER BEING OF UNIFORM WIDTH THROUGH OUT A MAJOR PORTION OF ITS LENGTH AND BEING STRETCHABLE IN A DIRECTION PARALLEL TO ITS LONGITUDINAL AXIS, THE EXPANSION MEMBER BEING ATTACHED AT ITS ENDS TO THE RESPECTIVE SIDE SECTIONS AND ITS UPPER AND LOWER EDGES BEING FREE OF ATTACHMENT THROUGHOUT A MAJOR PORTION OF ITS LENGTH SO THAT THE GIRDLE ACCOMMODATES TO STRETCHING FORCES GENERATED BY MOVEMENT OF THE BODY OF THE WEARER. 